Tuesday, September 12, 2017

#852 MATCHBOX - '57 CHEVY and F1 RACER (SUPER COLORCHANGERS) (1989)


The early 90s saw an explosion of toys with this thermal-paint that changed colour if put in the fridge. Many toys from Asia had this feature, and among these, many were low budget toys, so I assume it was not much more expensive than normal paint.

Matchbox's Catalogue 1989

Matchbox was no exception in the die-cast world, and released a short but intesting line of colour changing cars in the popular 3 inches, "superfast", series. The models released within this series are not new casts, they are all known from the previous years.


I guess they must be a bit rarer than the normal series. Taking a look at the catalogues, I see they were available for not very long, they only appear in 1989 catalogue.

I own only these two: the Ferrari F1 and the Chevrolet Chevy. Note the strange pink paint. When cooled down, they turn kind of white. I have to check other models I have that appear in the catalogue picture above, since some of them may be Super Colorchangers. I have to find that out.

All colour changing models are made in Macau.



FACTS AND FIGURES:
  • Name:  '57 CHEVY and F1 RACER
  • Scale: Around 1:64
  • Year: 1989
  • Company: Matchbox (United Kingdom)
  • Size: approx. 7 cm

8 comments:

  1. Wow, had completely forgotten about these. Myself and my brother had a couple, they came with a sort of sponge that fitted over the car that made it change colour (never tried putting them in the fridge). Thermal was in at the time as you say - I also remember thermal t-shirts being a hit briefly at the same time (where you could leave hand prints etc on the shirt)

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    Replies
    1. Hi David,
      Many thanks for the comment!
      I cannot recall the sponge, but it could perfectly be. I'll try to find some MOC pictures and update my article, if I find them.
      Cheers,
      Juan

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    2. Sorry, not much. I guess it must something between 5 US$ and nothing (if battered or in bad condition). Maybe a bit more if still in package or absolutely mint condition. Thanks for the comment!

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  2. For what it's worth, I also had plenty of the sponges, back in the day. They were square and yellow.

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    Replies
    1. Hi Todd, thanks for the comment! So, the cars changed colour not with cold temperatures, but with water, or how did it actually work? Cheers, Juan

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  3. Here are links to two packages that include the sponge. This is the only way I ever saw them in stores. Warm water would turn them one color, and cold water would turn them another.

    https://cloud10.todocoleccion.online/coches-a-escala/fot/2007/11/16/6466071.jpg
    https://mbx-u.com/images/models/SF0288-005-c-01_1.jpg

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